Search

What's New at AL$

Announcements

How to Graduate Without Spending a Dime on a Book

Faculty across the CSU are making it more affordable to get a degree with the introduction of no-cost digital textbooks and quality educational resources online. Full Article

CSU Channel Islands Offering Two Textbook Free Majors with Plans for More

CSUCI now has an alternative for some students worried about being able to afford textbooks. CSUCI educators working together have developed two "Z-Majors" which are majors that use quality, free and readily available educational resources as opposed to textbooks, which can be costly. CSUCI is the first in the CSU system to develop undergraduate "Z-Majors."

Intellus Learning empowers instructors to quickly access high-quality open educational resources (OER), other openly-licensed content, as well as their institution's academic library materials to help replace expensive course materials. Intellus enables faculty and course designers to efficiently identify free, quality openly-licensed materials and provides powerful, real-time insights into content use and student engagement. With patented machine learning techniques, Intellus has aggregated, indexed, and measured usage and engagement of 5.4 million Open Educational Resources (OER). Using the Intellus Learning platform, faculty can discover, curate, and assign OER easily and then deliver to students seamlessly via their campus LMS.

Additionally, Intellus Open Courses are now available for a select number of courses. Expertly curated in partnership with Macmillan's editorial team and subject matter experts, Intellus Open Courses are fully customizable, supported by instructor resources, measurable via Intellus Learning's analytics, easily delivered to students via the campus LMS and exceptionally affordable for students.

Introducing alta, Knewton's fully integrated learning courseware. Priced to students at only $44 per course for two years of access, alta is built upon Knewton's adaptive technology platform integrated with high-quality openly available content to deliver an affordable and impactful experience for all users. Alta is available for more than thirty courses across chemistry, economics, statistics and math, including several courses designed specifically for math curriculum redesign.

Willo Labs’ technology offers a seamless connection between the school's LMS and any and all digital course materials through one secure point. Willo Labs software reduces implementation time and helps scale digital programs and is currently supporting publisher digital integrations and Inclusive Access initiatives at campuses across the US and Canada in addition to the CSU AL$ programs.

CogBooks has developed affordable, adaptive off-the-shelf courseware to support instructors and students. CogBooks can be used as a full textbook replacement in a traditional classroom, pure online, or hybrid setting, allowing students a significant cost saving opportunity, while better supporting their unique learning needs.

Creating new avenues to affordable textbooks and other course materials is critical to the success of today's students and future generations who wish to complete their educational goals.

TAC's mission is to: Nurture the dialogue and a collaborative approach to creating a course content model which campuses and partners can implement to create more affordable, accessible, and effective options for students - in print or digital formats, using both open and commercial content - that support student learning, retention, and completion.

CSU Affordable Learning Solutions is a 2019 TAC Program Partner

AL$ Campus Awards Distributed May 2018

All CSU campuses who applied for AL$ funding will have received their award letter and their funds have been transferred to their campus fiscal accounts. If you have any questions, please contact Leslie Kennedy, als@cdl.edu

Channel Islands' Press Release: CSU Channel Islands has created two Zero Textbook Cost Majors. We are so excited to see several faculty collaborating and supporting the ability for their students to earn a degree without textbook costs. Well done Jaime Hannans and Jacob Jenkins, CSU Faculty & AL$ Coordinators.

The AL$ OLC Conference Resources from January 30, 2018

Visit the conference archives Resource Center (if you attended the conference) where you will find the attendee list as well as links to recommended reading materials (if provided) from the presenters.

California Senate Bill 1359 requires California State University campuses “to clearly highlight, by means that may include a symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital course materials that are free of charge to students and may have a low-cost option for print versions.” The deadline to implement this designation in course schedules is January 1, 2018. Memo to CSU Presidents from Gerry Hanley, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Technology Services.